Lexus sales continue to grow in Canada, with October 2008 sales of 1,126 total units, a 15.8% increase when compared to 2007. What’s more, total sales for the year are up 15.6% to 12,943 vehicles sold. This number is almost equal to the annual sales of 2007, with two months still remaining!

Some other points:

• Lexus RX 350 sales are up 33.5%, with 438 sold
• Lexus RX 400h sold 129 units, for an increase of 26.5%

(On top of that, Toyota announced that Scion will begin sales in Canada starting in 2010.)

[Source: Lexus Canada]

Ouch!

October was severely unkind to the automotive industry, with almost every company reporting ugly decreases when compared to last year. Lexus was hit something fierce, dropping 37.6% — here’s the model breakdown:

The LX 570 continues to defy any sense of logic, closing in on 400% growth over last year, but the other totals are nothing short of brutal. Still, it’s important to note that this isn’t an isolated event in the US — check out the damage over at Autoblog. It’s no small wonder these numbers are from October, because they’re just downright scary.

Good things come to those who wait!

Australia will finally be able to purchase the Lexus IS-F in late October, and even better, the super sedan’s pricing significantly undercuts the competition.

Retailing for $129,000 AUD (approx. $89,700 USD), the IS-F will be $15,365 AUD less than the Mercedes C63 and as much as $33,901 AUD less expensive than the BMW M3. Mr. John Roca, Lexus Australia’s Chief Executive, has more:

“IS F enters one of the most competitive categories,” Mr Roca said. “This category is all about passion and brand values. With the IS F we have the brand values - the passion comes with the first drive.

“The core Lexus values are what will set us apart from the competition. Lexus is extremely excited about the arrival of the IS F and the new clientele it will bring. Furthermore, Lexus now has a hero car that will stimulate sales of other IS models,” said Mr Roca.

In North America, this trio of cars retails for roughly the same amount (before options), but in Australia, the difference between an IS-F and an M3 roughly translates to $23,600 USD. That’s staggering.

[Source: Japanese Sports Cars]

Responding to a report that Toyota may be unable to achieve its projected global sales target, Senior Managing Director Yoichiro Ichimaru shared some details about the current state of Lexus sales worldwide.

According to Market Watch:

…[Toyota] will open a showroom in Tokyo for its upscale Lexus brand vehicles that is designed to draw in customers from countries outside of Japan.

At the new showroom, located in the center of one of Japan’s fashion districts, the company will offer services to explain Lexus products and Japanese traffic rules in English and other languages.

Lexus is currently struggling to boost sales of its luxury vehicles with sales for the first nine months of this year falling 25% from the same term last year.

Due to the brand’s reliance on the American market, the 25% drop in global sales is understandable, but that doesn’t make it any less shocking. Certainly, the number one focus for Lexus management has to be increasing the profile in Europe, if only to insure that similar drops don’t occur in the future.

Some interesting facts came out of a Europa Press interview with Lexus Europe vice-president Andy Pfeiffenberger — from the translated text:

…the vice president of the European subsidiary of Toyota said his company expected its sales this year on the European continent will be reduced by about 11%, to about 48,000 units, due to economic weakness, which has resulted in a sharp decline in car registrations in the region, particularly in the markets in Spain, Italy, Britain and Germany.

The new vice president of the company on the European continent stressed that “probably in the future” Lexus brand will become a “fundamentally hybrid,” in which the highest sales volume for this technology.

Pfeiffenberger explained that the subsidiary of the Toyota group is considering making a new compact model in order to compete with cars like the BMW 1 Series or the Audi A3, which are in a segment in which the Japanese firm is not present at present.

An 11% drop certainly isn’t good news, but at least it’s lower than the projected US number. It also gives us some insight to the overall brand growth in Europe, where statistics are far and few between.

As far as the Lexus competitor to the 1-Series or the A3, I’ve gone from one extreme to the other, where it’s now to a point where it’s probably the vehicle I’m most looking forward to in the Lexus lineup.

[Source: Europa Press via AutoblogGreen]

Lexus Canada saw sales soar 37.6% in September, bucking the direction of country’s softening auto market and marking the ninth straight record month.

Overall, the brand sold 1,351 units, and although Lexus Canada doesn’t publish it’s full model-by-model breakdown, there were a few choice tidbits in the press release:

• Lexus IS sales jumped 51.9%
• The Lexus RX 350 pushed up 55.1% to 501, and even more impressive, the RX 400h jumped 172.7% for a total of 120 units sold

This makes for a dose of good news following the company’s USA September numbers, and just goes to show that there’s room the world over for the brand to grow.

[Source: Lexus]